Untitled, photograph on archival pigment paper, 20 x 20 in.
Ava Margueritte | Heaven must be light
September 9 - 30
Reception: Saturday, September 9 @ 5 - 8 pm
Artist's Discussion: Friday, September 29 @ 5 - 6 pm
join us for a sit-down discussion with artists Ava Margueritte, Joy Kardish, and curator Tiffany April
RSVP your attendance to responses@wallspacegallery.ca
Wall Space Gallery presents Ava Margueritte's debut solo exhibition Heaven must be light. Within her latest body of photographic works, Margueritte maps the resurfacing of grace, beauty, and vulnerability within ourselves as we navigate our shifting identities through teenage years into adulthood. As in the creation of white light from the combination of all other coloured light rays, comfort in oneself can only be achieved with an acceptance of ones' myriad selves and experiences. For Margueritte, white light symbolizes spirituality, not in a religious sense but rather as a marker for how we walk through life - a visible and metaphorical reminder of lightness and joy.
All we know, photograph on archival pigment paper, 20 x 20 in.
Captured in medium-format film, many of the works in Heaven must be light chronicle the artist's surroundings in her current home-base of Ottawa. Having moved to Ottawa from her hometown of North Bay, a transition of location can have a lasting effect on one's inner narrative. Location and personhood are therefore interwoven, a sentiment that Margueritte coils into her signature approach to sfumato and leading compositional lines that embrace her portraits, landscapes, and still lifes.
We look forward to sharing this new body of works with you at our new location 1090 Bank St.! This exhibition will be celebrated alongside Wall Space's 15 year anniversary + grand re-opening!
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Ava Margueritte is a neurodiverse multi-disciplinary artist, primarily focused on photo-based works and drawing, painting, and writing. Through medium-format, large-format, and digital photography, Margueritte explores different narratives to document physical reactions to other emotional states.
By absorbing her surroundings, she evaluates the connection between body and mind. Drawing from several different mediums to execute her narrative, Margueritte is inspired by other multidisciplinary artists such as Egon Schiele, Wes Anderson, Cindy Sherman, Irving Penn, Tim Walker, and Suzy Lake. Margueritte has shown both nationally and internationally. In 2022, she was a Finalist for ProjectX, Shortlisted for the Athens Photo Festival, and was awarded the Deaf and Disability Arts Projects: Materials for Visual Artists from the Ontario Arts Council. Recently, she received honourable mention in photography at the 60th Toronto Outdoor Art Fair, and Awarded Runner Up in the category of Self Portrait Women Seen by Women 17th Julia Margaret Cameron Awards (2021). Her work is in the City of Ottawa Direct Purchase program and the collection of several personal collectors. Margueritte graduated from OCAD University with a BFA in Conceptual Photography and a diploma from SPAO.